The Racist Side of Dr. Seuss You Didn’t Know About

Before Dr. Seuss was famous, he drew racist political cartoons during the 1920s through the 1940s. Was Dr. Seuss himself a racist, or did he just draw these cartoon for a paycheck? He was a racist.

Geisel himself was vocally anti-Japanese during the war and had no trouble with rounding up an entire population of U.S. citizens and putting them in camps.

But right now, when the Japs are planting their hatchets in our skulls, it seems like a hell of a time for us to smile and warble: “Brothers!” It is a rather flabby battle cry. If we want to win, we’ve got to kill Japs, whether it depresses John Haynes Holmes or not. We can get palsy-walsy afterward with those that are left.

Geisel was hardly alone in such beliefs but it’s still disconcerting to see ugly cartoons like these drawn in the same hand that did The Cat in the Hat. from Open Culture

Rather than in World War I where the Germans were seen as innocent, but lead by an evil ruler, Hitler, the Japanese were all equally seen as evil, from the common citizen to the emperor. The distinguishing characteristics were also seen in Japanese-Americans, which caused the hatred and racism to extend from the Japanese to the Japanese-Americans. Attitudes such as these that classified all Japanese as the enemy allowed internment camps to be used and accepted by Americans, although just recently the American people had learned of the inhumane concentration camp the Nazi regime had used. from Dartmouth.edu

His racist views were not limited to Asian Americans however. In his illustration, Dr. Seuss draws African Americans as apes in blackface. This drawing went to auction recently, where no one bought it.

This panel, a hand-drawn, hand-painted illustration by Dr. Seuss that dates back to 1929, features individuals in blackface as objects for sale.It’s titled: “Cross-Section of The World’s Most Prosperous Department Store.”

For those unfamiliar with Dr. Seuss’ supremacist tendencies, we regret to inform you of his heavily documented penchants. Beyond this image, the author and illustrator drew anti-Japanese cartoons during World War II, and was wont to express his prejudiced views vocally. from The Huffington Post

I personally don’t think that Dr. Seuss should be representing NEA (National Education Association) Read Across America program. Dr. Seuss’ heritage should be recognized in its entirety, and that includes his racist past. It’s amazing how this remains unknown to the general public. I only recently came across it when researching books for Banned Book Week but I have to say that I can’t look at Dr. Seuss in a favorable light anymore.

31 Comments

Hi Erika,
I own at least three dozen books too. Honestly, they are great books. I’d keep them. I’m keeping my collection. What I am doing though is not promoting posts about Dr. Seuss on social media (which I’d normally do). So, bloggers if you wrote a post on Dr. Seuss, it’s nothing personal. Your blog is great but I just am not sharing on my social media.Pragmatic Mom recently posted…The Racist Side of Dr. Seuss You Didn’t Know About

This breaks my heart! Especially since his wife/estate fought to keep the film version of Horton Hears a Who from becoming pro-life propaganda. I even share a birthday with Dr. Seuss! I’m scared to see what comes next. What’s hiding in Mr. Rogers closet? 🙁

Hi Dee,
It was a shocker to learn about Dr. Seuss for me too! I’m sure Mr. Rogers is the same sweet guy that we all know and trust. The Dr. Seuss info is out there but it wasn’t widely known. If you google it though, it comes right up. So it’s not he was hiding a secret; it just was that people didn’t really want to know I guess.Pragmatic Mom recently posted…The Racist Side of Dr. Seuss You Didn’t Know About

Mia,
That’s a really good point and a good strategy going forward. I will not be posting about Seuss anymore – and not including his books in photos on social media, etc. There are just too many amazing children’s books out there to promote and honor. We need to promote those books that empower all kids – and that we can be proud of. Speaking of – did I tell you that I JUST published my own children’s book? Haha! I wanted to promote positive, diverse stories – so I started my own mystery detective series (ages 8-12) and it focuses on positive sibling relationships as the detectives travel the world. I’ve got a whole series planned (three books written so far). I figure if you can’t find the books you want to read to your kids, then you should write them! LOL 🙂 Here is the first book – I intentionally made the children in the book multicultural – so many different races of kids can identify with their story… not that I’m promoting my book here- just thought you’d be proud of me! Lol hahaha. It’s been really fun to get that creative side of myself going. It’s called The Mardi Gras Mystery – (The LOL Detective Club Book 1) by E.M. Finn and it’s available on Amazon… 🙂Erika M Finn recently posted…Paprika’s Trip To DWTS!

Wow. Mia, this is so important. SO important. I am definitely sharing this everywhere possible because I also feel I can’t support someone so clearly racist and negative. It goes against everything we are striving for right now. This is heartbreaking, but needs to be shared. Thank you for being brave and taking a stand. xoxo

Thanks so much for your support! It means a lot to me. I think people will be hard to convince since Dr. Seuss is such a KidLit icon but I don’t think he should be the face of Read Across America. It sends the wrong message.Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Restaurant Games to Get Kids Off Screens

I think I’m the only person in America that didn’t care for Dr.Seuss to begin with, but this is just disgusting. I realize it was “a different time” back then, but there’s no excuse for it. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Alicia,
You can count me in on your side! I’m no longer a Dr. Seuss fan. He played a role in my mother’s forced internment during WWII for being Japanese American. She was born in San Francisco and her brother was a decorated member of the 442nd. I think Dr. Seuss should be outed for the racist that he was and the role he played in forcing Japanese Americans into concentration camps.Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Restaurant Games to Get Kids Off Screens

Thanks so much for writing about this! I never promoted his books on my site anyway as he hasn’t written any multicultural ones (now we know why). And I totally agree, with this past he shouldn’t be representing the Read Across America program.Svenja recently posted…Multicultural Book of the Month: Hip Hop Speaks To Children

Hi Svenja,
I love your blog and book lists! You are amazingly thorough!! I was shocked to learn about Dr. Seuss recently too though the articles have been out for years. I’m not sure if the people who made the decision from Read Across America knew about his racist beliefs. It’s not widely known so I’d understand if they didn’t know. But I’m hoping that next year, there will be a new mascot!Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Kid Lit Blog Hop!

Hi Erik,
I know, RIGHT?! His illustration style is so recognizable! And now his “oriental” characters in If I Ran the Zoo look a lot less appealing to me!Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Kid Lit Blog Hop!

Hi Erica,
It’s not well known but I’m not sure why not. There are quite a few articles out on his racist WWII cartoons. I can’t look at him or his books the same way anymore.Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Taking a Children’s Book Writing Class

Thank you for sharing this on the DIverse Children’s Book Linky – I had no idea. It makes me feel ill… Although Dr Seuss was not big numbers-wise when my sons were small, Green Eggs and Ham and Horton Hears a Who were definite favourites. But as has already been pointed out, there are other great books out there so those are two books I won’t be saving for when I have grandchildren!Marjorie (MWD) recently posted…Review: Non-Fiction Photographic Story ‘The Lucky One’

Hi Marjorie,
We own dozens and dozens of Dr. Seuss and my kids grew up reading and loving him. And now I learn that he played a role in my mother’s forced internment during WWII. I think it’s important for my kids to know about this too. I think I will still keep the books and the lesson is how media can influence the masses into acceptance of something that is wrong: movies, theatre, books and publications. And for the reader to be discerning when reading.Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Taking a Children’s Book Writing Class

Racism is horrible – no doubt above it. I am very upset to learn about this dark side of Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss in my book is a genius. We are criticizing a man from the 1940’s wih the opinions and mindset of 2016. What Americans did to the Japanese Americans is unexcusable. Japanese-American Interment Camps is an embarrassment upon our country and a great injustice. People were scared and rightfully so. Hitler, Stalin, etc. were horrible threats to mankind. Does this justify what Seuss or the Americans did to the Japanese-Americans – NO!

Hi Pam,
Dr. Seuss is certainly a giant in children’s literature, but I think his work and contributions need to be seen from all perspectives, and that includes his racist believes that also permeate into his children’s books. I think it makes many of them dated.Pragmatic Mom recently posted…My Mother’s Day Card in Chinese Makes Me So Happy!

Hi Lisa,
It’s shocking, isn’t it? I would have never expected this from the person who wrote Horton Hears a Who, but there it is. He’s a racist. If he were alive today, he’d probably be supporting Trump!Pragmatic Mom recently posted…My Mother’s Day Card in Chinese Makes Me So Happy!